Our 1st Family Camping Trip

Over the weekend, we had our first official family camping trip!!! We took the travel trailer to Corpus Christi a few weeks ago, but DJ and Gretchen were the only ones that stayed in it (we had already booked an Air B&B before we bought the camper), but this time, all of us went (except Gretchen since she's at my mom's) and we had so much fun! DJ had to really convince me to buy a camper, but now that it's here and we're using it, I know we are really going to love having it! 

We arrived at The Summit Resort on Friday afternoon, checked in, and set up the camper. 

We weren't able to get a travel trailer with an outdoor kitchen, but we bought this portable grill and it worked great! I even told DJ that I wasn't afraid of the grill for once- ha! We also had two burners, so we set those up on a table, and voila! An outdoor kitchen. 

We wandered off tot the park to play for a bit, and then DJ headed back to cook dinner. 

The park was so much fun! But, probably because we haven't been able to play on a park in so long! 

While the girls were playing, we spotted a deer in the distance! Can you see it?

And Megan climbed this sideways tree. 

Our first dinner was a hit! I prepared the foil packets at home, wrapped them, and all we had to do was throw them on the grill! I've pinned a ton of RV cooking recipes here. 

After dinner, we let the girls swim until dark. 

They loved the big slide in the middle of the pool! 

We got back to the camper, and ended the evening with smores and roasted marshamallows! 

Saturday morning, we fixed breakfast, and then headed outt o hike the South Trail of the Guadalupe River. 

This picture doesn't do it justice, but this little gorge was big! 

We stopped by a little river overlook for a rest. 

And then found a little path down to the water. 

We also found huge trees! 

Across the river, were houses, and we found this one that built their deck around this tree, and thought it was so cool! 

My little hiking gang. 

We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant, and DJ even had his favorite dessert- banana pudding; and then we made our way back to the campground. 

The campground had a point of river access, so we went down to play in the water. There was a little current, that the girls would float away with, and then they'd stand up and walk back (the river wasn't deep at all)

And yes, we brought chairs down to chill! 

We watched people kayack and float in river rafts down the river. The girls all have it on their bucket list now! 

Just sitting in the river with two of my girls. 

The water was so cold, but it was so fun! 

After a while, we went back to the pool to let the girls swim. We also played volleyball for a bit. 

And Adalyn practiced swimming. 

We went back to the camper for popsicles and dinner. 

After dinner, it was back to the pool! The girls managed to meet a few friends, and invited them all to the camper for marshmallows and smores! We stayed up chatting with new friends until well past bedtime! 

Sunday morning we slept late and had to get up to pack up and check out by 11. I was thankful to be home at a decent hour because we had to unload the camper and get ready for the work week! It was such a fun weekend away, and we already have another camping weekend planned! 

June Lateyl

We hit the ground running last Monday, and I can already tell that June is going to fly by. I can tell you right now that we're thankful that school is out, but I also feel like I'm struggling to keep up with all the things. DJ went back to work, and I'm back to three days a week, and one day a week at home. We've also squeezed in some traveling, which makes me feel more behind too. My daily motto continues to be "it will get done..... eventually." Sigh. 

Here's what we've been up to. 

Last week, Adalyn went back to gymnastics! I picked her up, took her to Target, and we came home to bake cookies. 

She found a recipe in our American Girl cookbook, and I tweaked it just a bit. The recipe called for peppermint flavor and red food coloring, but we opted for orange essential oil and sprinkles! 

Psst- if you have a girl that loves to cook, this cookbook would make a wonderful present! We bought it for Gretchen for Christmas one year and we've used it so many times! 

I started a 30 day yoga challenge, and I'm one week in. I'm also working on closing my rings on my apple watch this month. It has felt so good to get in some yoga every day! 

Gretchen is currently at my mom's house for "Camp Gee." She's picked blueberries, went camping, and even made an apron! It's reversible and so cute! We pick her up on Thursday and can't wait to see her! 

Meanwhile, Adalyn has been working on her reading. We're currently reading our way through the Magic Treehouse books. 

She picked out the cutest little sticker sets from the dollar spot in Target. There were a set of 3, and she picked out a set for Megan too. They worked on them while I cooked dinner, and then for a few days afterwards! It was a great way to keep them entertained! 

Megan took hers camping with her and so much fun with them! 

I've been taking my yoga practice outside, and this cutie joined me at the end of my session last week. 

And, I had to share a picture of Gretchen's clean room! It won't look like this on Thursday when she gets home! Ha! I'm enjoying it while it lasts! 

Whew! That's a bit of what we've been up to this month! Come back tomorrow for a re-cap of our weekend camping trip! 

School's Out!

I'm sure like most of you, this school year was bittersweet. We had no idea in August, that in March, we would be homeschooling, and that our kids would be missing out on field trips, award assemblies, parties, and more end of the school year fun.

We started out with lots of dreams and plans for August, and then they were all ripped away. But, despite it all, we were so thankful to have the family time this Spring. I also have to add, that I know our version of home  school isn't what our home school friends experience and we all had our good days and bad days. It took us a few weeks to get in to the groove, and we had good days and bad days. 

The girls on their first day of school; excited for 1st, 3rd, and 6th grades. 

And their last day of school was spent at the beach because all of their home school activities were finally finished! 

Gretchen started middle school this year. She was so nervous on the first day of school. She has an amazing group of girlfriends, and met even more sweet friends this year. She participated in UIL, Destination Imagination and even had a part in the Spring musical. She created a book drive and collected used books that she'll later deliver to a foster organization or children's hospital. 

She did great with home school. She was able to complete the activities her teachers assigned and was extremely responsible getting it all finished and turned in. Gretchen also helped her sisters when DJ and I were working or when she understood a concept better than we did. Yes,  she sure did know some things that we didn't! She missed her friends from school, but was able to talk to them via text or zoom, and even created a book club with a few friends and had weekly zoom meetings to discuss what they read. She's still passionate about her organization, Go Green Go Clean, that she and her friends created and is working toward making more bracelets and wanting to create a website to sell merchandise and collect donations.

She's looking forward to 7th grade in the Fall! 

Megan started 3rd grade and was excited for her teacher. She learned multiplication and grew in her love for reading this year. She made a few friends and had fun at her class parties. Megan is definitely quiet and shy at school, which is not her personality at home, but I know she really enjoyed her teacher this year. 

Megan's teacher set up their homeschooling in such an organized and easy manner. It was completed through Google classroom and was so simple. I can't brag on her teacher enough for how organized he was. She had daily check ins, reading lessons, and he had recorded lessons for their math assignment. His worksheets for math, were so hands on and detailed. Most days, Megan was able to complete everything on her own and did a wonderful job. 

She's nervous about 4th grade, but I know she'll do great! 

Adalyn made great new friends this year and loved her teacher. She learned a lot of sight words and she does really well with math. She learned to count money at the end of the year, which was fun for her! Addy had a field trip to see a play and went to the park, which was a highlight for her. Homework this year was a struggle, but I felt like she had a lot, and we were all exhausted after school. We eventually got in to a routine, but I was thankful when we only had home school activities in March, because somehow, they were easier than the homework she had. 

There were a few times that her teacher and I didn't see eye to eye on things, but I have to say, she did a phenomenal job with homeschooling in March. Everything was organized and she sent a pdf with clickable links to make everything easy to find. Adalyn had to write a daily journal, and it was fun looking through them at the end of the year and seeing the progress she made. She met a best friend who lives a few houses down, and another that lives in our neighborhood, and remained close friends with a friend from kindergarten. We're looking forward to 2nd grade and seeing if any friends will be in her class! 

And with that, the 2019-2020 school year has come to an end!

Hello Summer! 

Corpus Christi

DJ found out that he would have Memorial week off, so we decided to head to Corpus Christi for a few days. We actually rented an Air B&B because my parents were coming down with my niece for Megan's birthday, and then we decided to take the camper down too to break it in. We actually booked this trip and the B&B before we bought the camper. But, it worked out great since there were 8 of us. 

We left on Wednesday, checked in to the B&B, got the camper set up and hit the beach. The campground was right beside the beach, so it was an easy walk over. 

The girls immediately jumped in and played and played. 

We haven't been to the beach in two years, but we still had body boards and toys take with us. We ended the night with dinner on the pier, and took showers and went to bed. 

Thursday morning, we started the day at the condo pool. The girls were thrilled that there were lots of floats and toys to play with. 

After lunch, we headed to the beach for more fun in the waves and sand.

It was also the official last day of school, so we celebrated with some pics. 

These 3rd graders are officially ready for 4th grade! 

The girls also had fun feeding all of the birds cookies. 

We had dinner at the campground. The girls sat outside and sang karaoke while waiting for dinner. 

Friday looked the same as Thursday. We started off at the pool, and made it to the beach after lunch. 

DJ, my stepdad, and Gretchen ditched us for the day to see the aircraft carrier museum. 

I think Addy was a little worn out by Friday afternoon! She sat and watched some youtube, and cuddled with ballet baby.

Gretchen joined us in the afternoon and the girls played some more. 

#sistercousins

We left the beach to shower and get dressed for dinner. And my mom wanted some pictures of the girls, so we headed to the pool to take pictures, rather than getting sandy again. 

These sweet sisters are growing up too fast. 

We headed to a local seafood restaurant for dinner, and took in the gorgeous sunset. And yes, I got a bit too much sun! 

After dinner we took the girls to a souvenir shop. 

We made Adalyn's day when she found this stuffed turtle on a leash! For a year she's been asking for a pet turtle, and telling us all about how she'll take it on walks and put it in a stroller. She seriously talks about getting a pet turtle all the time! She brought this toy home with her and slept with it that night! It was the best find! 

Our beach trip was the perfect little getaway and we look forward to heading back to Corpus!